Eikon: Our Name

I wrote these words this morning to the 130+ folks who are praying for me and our community.

Here it is:

Hello my friends,
I am so grateful for your prayers and involvement in the new community here in the Tulsa area. I apologize for the gap in communication to you over the past few weeks. Lots of things have happened. I want to share with you something important to me, the name of our new community.

Eikon (pronounced icon)

Here's where it came from.

In the first chapter of Genesis God is creating the world, cosmos and humans. It says that God creates man in his own image. The world for image here in the Hebrew is tselem. Later in the New Testament, the word used is the greek, eikon. We are all eikon’s of God, made in God’s image. You my friend, are an eikon of God.

There are four parts of being an eikon of God that we understand from the story of scripture. First in Genesis we see that as eikon’s of God we are cracked and broken. Sin has broken us in four ways and we are in need of redemption for each of them to become whole. It’s important to note that each of these is relational in nature.

If you grew up in an evangelical church like I did, then the first is no surprise. Sin has broken our relationship with God and it needs to be healed. In Genesis we see Adam and Eve hiding from God.

Second, is our relationship to ourselves. To be a whole eikon, healed from our brokenness is to be ok in our own skin. That is to say, that part of salvation is to heal our understanding of ourselves. We see this in Genesis when people feel shame. As Kierkegard said, “With God’s help I will be come myself.” Part of what it means to be saved is to become who God has in mind from the beginning. It is the healing of ourselves as individuals.

Third, is our relationship to other people. Relationships with other people were fractured in Genesis. (They noticed that they were naked.) Part of our life salvation is to take into consideration the healing of our relationships with others. As cracked eikon’s of God we need to be healed in our relationships with others. In this sense, life with God can never be solely a private matter, it must include others. Community is both the means by which we are healed and object in need of transformation.

Fourth, we were created as eikons with a healthy relationship to the earth which was fractured. Part of what it means to be made in the image of God is to heal our relationship to the earth we live in. This isn’t a militant environmentalism, but a serious stewardship of the earth and humanity’s appropriate care for the world we live in.

We are all eikons of God. We are created to be in whole relationship with ourselves, God, others, and the world. We are cracked eikons and need to be made whole.

The major theme of the New Testament is the healing of these four aspects of being an eikon of God. Jesus as the example, provider, and savior who directs and heals us in each of these four areas.

This is why our new community exists. To join God in the restoration of people as eikons of God.

Our name reflects our mission.
This is who we hope to be as a community.

thanks again for partnering with me and our community in prayer.

more soon...

mark